Because Of Love
by autumn midnights
Summary: They are not their parents; they are just finding themselves - who they are and who they want to be. And somewhere along the way, they fall in love. A series of unconnected oneshots, each one featuring a different het, non-cousincest pairing of the Next Generation. First up: Lucy/Lorcan. Second one: Teddy/Victoire. Third: Lily/Scorpius
1. lucylorcan - confusion

Disclaimer: This is a mass disclaimer for the whole fic, as I don't feel like putting one of these at the beginning of every single chapter. I don't own anything from the Harry Potter series, and I won't own any of it in other chapters, either.

Author's Note: This will end up being a little over 30 chapters; it will contain all of the het, non-cousincest Next-Gen pairings imaginable (which basically means all the girls are paired with Teddy, Lorcan, Lysander, and Scorpius, and the Weasley boys each have a different OC)

For reference, here are the various Houses and ages of the characters. Ages are at the time of the epilogue, although the fics may take place multiple years later. The ages are merely for reference, in order to show who's older than who, etc. In some of the oneshots here - they aren't all connected - I may change one of the ages to make it easier to write. I will mention if I have, though, and I won't change any of the canon ages (Teddy, Victoire, Albus, Rose, Scorpius, Hugo, Lily).

Gryffindor: Teddy (19), Freddie (16), Roxanne (12), James (12). Ravenclaw: Victoire (17), Dominique (15), Rose (11), Molly (12), Lorcan (9), Lysander (9). Hufflepuff: Albus (11), Hugo (9), Lucy (10), Louis (10). Slytherin: Lily (9), Scorpius (11).

Sorry for the long AN, but I thought I should explain the premise of this fanfiction.

* * *

Dear Diary,

Something odd happened today. I suppose, technically, one could make the argument that my whole life is odd - after all, I'm a witch, and I attend a school for magic. Which, to most of the world, is strange. Not to me, though, since I've grown up surrounded by it. My whole family - and it's a very large family - is magical. I've always been used to it, and to me, it's positively normal. Of course, my family isn't positively normal.

My family is the Weasleys. We're a very large family, spread out over three generations - my grandparents, then my parents and uncles and aunts, and then my generation. Which means that whenever we get together, the table is extremely crowded and has to be elongated. Or we eat outside, unless it's Christmas and it's freezing cold out.

I'm a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. Three of my cousins - Albus, Hugo, and Louis - are also there, so the four of us usually hang out together in the common room. We're spread out across all four houses, although Lily's the only Slytherin. Big surprise there. Not. I predicted she would be in Slytherin long before either of us was even here. And while many people would take that as insulting, because it has a rather Dark reputation, Lily simply said, "Cool," and then went on doing whatever it is Lily did then.

I'm rambling again, aren't I? People say I do that a lot. I suppose I do. I'm generally pretty quiet, but when somebody gets me going or when I'm nervous, I tend to talk a lot, and I don't shut up easily. I write a lot, also, as is obvious from this diary. Well, this is actually my first entry, since I just got this a couple of days ago for my birthday, but so far it's a rather long entry and I haven't even gotten to the odd part yet. Whatever. I don't think it really matters, since I'm the only one who's reading this. Hopefully.

All right. So I suppose I should write down exactly what got me into this odd situation before I actually explain what happened; after all, if I look back on this diary when I'm a hundred and something years old, I might not remember what happened as clearly as I do now. So the main reason why this happened is because I'm a writer. Not professionally or anything, but I love to write and I'm working on a novel. It's not very good, I guess, compared to some of the things I've read, but I wouldn't say it's complete crap, either.

It's about a boy and a girl - one's practically royalty, and the other's a servant. I suppose it's a tad cliché, but it wouldn't be the first story like that, and it won't be the last. Anyway, that doesn't really matter; what matters is that I'm a writer, and it's for that reason that I went up to the Astronomy Tower after classes let out for the day. It's quiet up there - it has a reputation as a make-out spot, but that's more at night than during the daytime, and when I went up it was still light out.

I like it because it's quiet, and it's easier to write when it's quiet. Not to mention the view is beautiful and inspiring, and inspiration is always lovely, since I've had a bit of writer's block. When I got up there, though, I realized that it wasn't empty like it usually is. There was another person up there; a Ravenclaw boy. I recognized him as Lorcan Scamander, the daughter of Aunt Luna - who isn't really my aunt, just a really close friend of the Weasley family - and one year younger than me.

He had a sketchpad, and was drawing the view from the Tower. It was a good drawing, I could see that instantly. It wasn't done, but it would be excellent when it was finished. He whirled around when he saw me enter, and blushed. "Hi."

"Um..." I'm awkward around people I don't know well. "Hi," I said quietly. "Do you mind, er, if I stay up here?" I waved around the manuscript of my unfinished novel. "I wanted to write, and uh, the view is inspiring."

"It is, isn't it?" He stared out, over the Hogwarts grounds. There's a beautiful view of the grounds, the lake, and the Forbidden Forest from this high up. I crossed over to where he was standing and joined him gazing out at the picturesque scenery. Hogwarts really is beautiful, even if the name sounds kind of strange. The appearance, at least, is pleasant - the grass is green, the castle is magnificent, and the lake and the forest also provide beauty.

"I wish I could draw like that." I gestured to his sketch; he blushed again. "I can barely draw a stick figure. Lily says my stick figures look like a six-year-old's scribbles." Normally, when Lily makes one of her snarky comments, I tell her she's being rude. In this case, well, it's completely true and I've said as much myself.

"Yeah, well, I'm terrible at writing. My essays...you really don't want to see those." He laughed, but it sounded very self-conscious. "Wish I was a better writer. It's more useful, like in real life, I mean. This is just a hobby."

"Not necessarily," I argued, realizing that I was actually holding a conversation with somebody I didn't know very well. That's a rarity, and usually when I talk to somebody I'm only acquaintances with, they're doing most of the talking and I'm just nodding along and saying 'yeah, you're right' every minute. "You could become an artist. I think you're talented enough for it."

"Nobody would buy this."

"I would." It was impulsive, and right after saying it I regretted it, thinking that it was much too personal for people who had only been talking for about two minutes. It was very Gryffindor of me, which is stupid because I'm probably the most non-Gryffindor person ever. Except for Lily, of course, because she's the epitome of Slytherin - which annoys Uncle Ron to no end, because he's still prejudiced against them. One time, I even overheard him saying to Aunt Hermione that he hopes Lily doesn't end up going Dark. I think she slapped him upside the head for that comment - Aunt Hermione did, that is, not Lily - and he claimed he was joking. I don't think so.

Okay, I'm rambling again. Anyway, so I said I would buy Lorcan's drawing, and he looked down at it as if he didn't know which one it was. "It's not that good," he protested, shaking his head.

"Lorcan, it looks like a photograph, except it's not colored and it's made up of lines and it's not done." He didn't look too thrilled. "Okay, that came out wrong. I meant that it looks exactly like what it's supposed to. It looks like this view, and it will even more when it's finished. Why do you-" I stopped there; I didn't want to pry into his mind.

"What were you going to ask?"

"Nothing," I muttered, and I started to walk away, towards the other side, hoping that I could write in peace. He caught my arm and spun me to face him, raising his eyebrows in a very questioning manner. "I was going to ask why you thought so lowly of your drawing. You're obviously talented."

He shrugged. "My brother - Lysander - tells me that it's kind of stupid to draw. That my time would be much better spent getting girls and having his idea of fun. I haven't really heard anybody say that I draw well." He finally let go of my arm, as if he only realized at that moment that he was holding it.

"You're a great artist," I murmured, all-too-aware of how close we were standing. He wasn't even a foot away from me, and our eyes met; at the same time, we stepped forward and touched lips, exploring each other's mouth in a kiss. We pulled apart for breath, and he glanced at his watch suddenly; I saw it was nearly supper.

"I...I should go," he muttered, and ran down the stairs.

I was left up there, confused about what had just happened. Well, not about what had happened; I knew that. We had kissed. But then for him to just run out like that...mixed messages galore. It's been about five hours since that happened, and I'm still unsure about what should occur next. I mean, do we go out? I'm not experienced in relationships. Maybe I'll ask one of my cousins what to do. Rose should know important relationship-y things, since she's practically attached at the hip to Scorpius Malfoy.

Ew, bad mental images of Rose and Scorpius attached at the hips. I didn't realize what an innuendo that sounded like. Moving on. I'll ask her tomorrow. Right now, it's late, and I want to get some sleep. Maybe I'll dream of Lorcan. He is good-looking, and he definitely is nice. I wouldn't mind going out with him. Not that I'm really used to that.

I need sleep. Good night, diary.

* * *

**I don't ship this...but it was extremely fun to write because Lucy rambles. A LOT. Anyway, this is the first chapter of many, and it'll probably be updated kind of erratically because some of the oneshots for this that I have planned will probably be much longer. And most of the oneshots aren't connected, although there probably will be some background characters that stay the same, and the Houses of the next-gen will all be the same, most likely.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	2. teddyvictoire - more than friends

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own 'Mary's Song (Oh My My My)' either, which is the song that parts of this are based on._

_Author's Note: First and foremost, this is written for SophyWald. I really hope you enjoy my first foray into Teddy/Victoire! I've never written them as anything more than a 120-word drabble. And I only used a few of your prompts ('lake', 'forest', 'warm' , 'moody'. sorry about that - I'm horrible at using a whole lot of prompts in one story) Also, this is written for the 'Ultimate Taylor Swift Competition' (where I got the prompt of Mary's Song, which I based some of the fic around but didn't directly use any quotes), 'Honeydukes Competition' (Chocoballs, write a romance fic), 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Competition' (Love Potions, write a romance fic) and 'Captaining the Next-Gen Armada' (where I have to write all next-gen het non-cousincest pairings)._

_Victoire's PoV._

* * *

There was something beautiful about Teddy Lupin's eyes. Even though he switched colors often - he couldn't decide on an eye color as easily as he could the rest of his features, which tended to stay the same - his eyes always held this certain sparkle, a certain shine that made him almost always look friendly and approachable. I had noticed it for years, but it wasn't the sort of thing that I would say to someone, especially if said someone was two years older, the opposite gender, and the object of my affections.

That last one wasn't something I was particularly proud of. Teddy and I had been friends since we were really little, and for the longest time I had considered him a cross between brother and best friend. Now, though, the feelings I had for him were no way near sibling affection. It felt really strange to look at Teddy and feel this little jolt, to look at him and know that I fancied him. It was weird to know that I wouldn't mind kissing the boy who had once tricked someone into thinking we were siblings, since Teddy had changed his appearance to look like a male version of me at that point. Of course, I wouldn't want to kiss him when he looked like that, but still.

When we were young, my parents, Teddy's grandmother, and Uncle Harry used to joke that we would end up together. We spent all our time together before Hogwarts; most of the other Weasley-Potters were too young to hang out with us, and so we became fast friends, as the only older kids around. We joked around and played and fought and knew everything about one another, and when Teddy went to Hogwarts, I missed him as horribly as a nine-year-old could. He wrote me, though, and told me all about it - the big, freezing cold lake that he had jumped in as a dare, the Forbidden Forest (which he desperately wanted to explore), and the cozy, warm, Gryffindor common room.

Even when I reached Hogwarts and was Sorted into Ravenclaw, we still stayed friends. Many of the adults were surprised, because they had expected our friendship to slowly disintegrate once we each had other friends. They expected us to remain on good terms, yes, but they had figured that we wouldn't remain close once we had friends who were our own age and our own gender. That didn't happen; Teddy and I remained as close as we had when we were young, before Hogwarts, before the complicated mess that was Hogwarts' dating life, before moody teenage boys mooning over me and silly teenage girls fawning over Teddy, whose ability to change his appearance was very attractive to them.

I was annoyed the whole time with the people who wanted to date Teddy for shallow reasons. I knew some girls wanted to date him simply because he could change his appearance to look like whoever he wanted - like whatever celebrity they were currently crushing on - while retaining his personality as Teddy Lupin, adorably fumbling Gryffindor. I didn't realize then, though, that my annoyance stemmed from jealousy; I wanted Teddy for myself, as silly as that sounds, because I fancied him. After all, as well, I was his best friend, the one person who knew him better than anybody else, the one person who he didn't have to change for. He was himself around me, and he sometimes - no, usually - hid that from other people.

"Victoire?" Teddy said suddenly, and I jumped slightly, turning my head to face him. I had been so lost in my thoughts about Teddy that I had completely ignored the fact that he was sitting right in front of me.

"Yeah?" I propped myself up on my elbows, dusting sand off of my arms. We were at the beach right near Shell Cottage, relaxing as the sun slowly set over the horizon. Since it was only April, it wasn't hot, and it felt wonderful to just be here, alone with Teddy, even though the atmosphere was completely platonic.

"What are you doing for your seventeenth birthday? It's a pretty big occasion." He grinned at me, a goofy smile that lit up his face and made his eyes shine even more. I was distracted for a moment, and then I tried to think about the answer to his question.

It was hard to believe that I was almost seventeen, that I was almost done my sixth year of Hogwarts. It was difficult to imagine not being a Hogwarts student anymore - hell, it was difficult to imagine being seventeen, a legal adult in the Wizarding world. Once I returned from Easter holidays, I would go back to studying and preparing for the end-of-year tests - thank Merlin they weren't NEWTs, I didn't feel ready for that level of studying quite yet - and Teddy would go back to Auror training. "Well," I said slowly, "I know that my friends and I will probably just throw a little party in the Ravenclaw common room around my actual birthday. And then, after Hogwarts lets out for the summer, I'll come home and have my party with all of the Weasley-Potters. And you, of course."

Teddy smiled again. "Of course," he said. "Well, I mean, I am an honorary Weasley-Potter, so I count."

I tried to refrain from making a face. I really didn't want Teddy to be an honorary Weasley-Potter; I didn't want to feel like I'm crushing on my brother or cousin. Ew. "Yeah, well..." I shrugged, not really sure what to say to that comment apart from 'No, you can't be a member of my family, because I fancy you and I don't want it to feel any more incestuous than it already does'. "How's Auror training, anyway? I'm always more, uh, talkative in our letters." Teddy tried - he really did - but he just wasn't that great at writing. He would write me letters, sure, but he was just not very good at describing things via written word.

"Ah, shut up," he said teasingly, nudging me. "You're the writer. But Auror training..." He sighed slightly, and I looked at him worriedly. He had held such high hopes for being an Auror like Uncle Harry, like his mother had been before she died. He noticed my glance, and shrugged. "Don't worry. It's just...difficult, that's all. It's exhausting, too - I go back to my flat and fall asleep at about seven at night so I can wake up at six to get to Auror training."

"Whoa. Since when do you go to bed before midnight?" Teddy was notorious around our family - and he had been around Hogwarts - for staying up late all the time, no matter when he was waking up the next morning. Everyone was pretty much used to it, and it was nearly impossible to picture Teddy going to bed not just before midnight, but five hours before.

He shook his head. "Auror training's crazy. There's physical training, because they want us all to be in perfect shape, not to mention all the spells and curses we have to practice with. And the people we practice with are trained Aurors who know exactly what to hit us with in practice, and they're not afraid to do so." He rubbed his thigh unconsciously, and my eyes flicked downward toward it, wondering how it had been hurt. "Yeah. Um, just telling you now - don't become an Auror."

"Don't think I could handle it?" I kept my voice lighthearted, although I did feel slightly offended.

"You could handle it, Vic - you could handle a lot of things. You're seriously capable. No, I just wouldn't want you to have to deal with the sort of shit that they put us through there."

_And I'm no longer offended, _I thought. That was actually sweet, especially for Teddy, who wasn't exactly the charming, smooth, romantic type. Even though his choice of words wasn't the most romantic, either - I had never read a romance novel where the bloke says something kind with the word 'shit' in it - it was still probably as close to romance as Teddy Lupin was going to get. "Aw," I said. "That's sweet."

He blushed. I hadn't seen him do that in a while, and it was oddly endearing. "Well...you know..." he said awkwardly, picking at the thread of the blanket we had been sitting on. He took a deep breath. "I care about you. I don't want to see you going through what I am right now."

I wanted to squeal like a stupid little girl. Even though I didn't actually know whether Teddy meant that in a platonic or romantic way - and my bets were on the former - it was still an incredibly nice, sweet, rather un-Teddy-ish thing to say. He just didn't say stuff like that. I was so tempted to throw my arms around him and kiss him, but I had no idea how he would react. I wished that I was a Gryffindor like him, that I wouldn't be afraid to do something like that. I could picture a Gryffindor just randomly kissing the person they fancied, without worrying about the consequences, without being too scared. I was too scared to do it, too scared that he'd push me away and say that he thought of me as a sister, and a sister only.

I took a long breath. "Thanks," I said quietly, my fingers brushing his as I, too, reached for a loose thread on the blanket to fidget with. "That's really nice of you to say. I care about you too." We were sitting close together, and I was sure that if Lily had been spying on us, this would have been the moment where she jumped out and screamed, 'Just kiss already!' This was the moment in a book, or a Muggle movie, where the characters were so close, and everyone was waiting to see what happened next...

Teddy stared down at the thread that he had pulled out of the blanket, creating a slight gathering of the fabric. "Sorry about that," he said, gesturing to the fabric. I smoothed it out, and he chuckled nervously. There was a slight tension in the air that hadn't been there before, as though he, too, had picked up on the romantic-ness of his words. I would actually be happy if he had - after all, that was what I wanted, Teddy and I to be together - but only if he actually felt that way towards me as well.

This was the first time I had felt this strongly about someone. I had fancied people in the past, of course, but it had all been really silly things - 'Oh, he's really hot' sort of behavior, as opposed to actually crushing on someone not just because of their looks, but because of their personality and how well it molded with my own. Teddy and I knew each other inside and out, and I knew about his bad habits and bad feelings just as I did his good ones, but I couldn't really bring myself to care, especially not at a moment like this. "Teddy," I said quietly, not sure what I was actually planning on saying or doing, but not wanting the silence to continue. I turned and faced him, and he finally looked directly at me.

"Victoire," he replied, his face inches from mine. I then did what I had just been too afraid to do moments before; I leaned forward, closing the short distance between us, and pressed my lips to his, only for a couple seconds, pulling away quickly. Teddy stared at me, unmoving, speechless, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes wide. "Victoire," he said again, almost in wonder this time. "You - you fancy - you fancy _me_?"

"Yeah," I said brilliantly, pleased with the fact that he didn't jump up and run away, calling me a freak for kissing someone who was almost like my brother. "I do."

"But how - I mean, I'm me, and you're...you." He gestured to himself, and then to me, shaking his head. "I mean, you're just incredible, and here I am moaning about being unable to get through Auror training."

The word 'moaning' brought other connotations to my mind, and I shook my head to try to clear it of the wildly-inappropriate thoughts about Teddy moaning in a very different situation. Damn my stupid teenage hormonal brain. "You're not moaning about it. And besides, Auror training isn't easy. And you're incredible too." It took effort to make myself sound halfway normal, and not completely, insanely freaked out-happy that Teddy had called me incredible. "So, er, you didn't mind the fact that I just, um, kissed you?"

"Mind?" Teddy's mouth dropped open, and his eyes became wider. "How the hell could I mind kissing you? I've dreamt about that!" He blushed again, his thoughts presumably going in the same inappropriate direction that mine just had. "Victoire, you're gorgeous, and you're basically the only person I'm really, really close to, and, um, yeah. I pretty much fancy you, but I didn't tell you because I figured you'd end up with some...I dunno, some male model or something."

"Why would I need a male model?" I said, and then leaned my head on his shoulder, deciding to go for cheesy-but-cute. "I've got you."

* * *

_What is this? I enjoyed writing a Teddy/Victoire? WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO? But no, seriously, I'm actually kind of happy with it. The style of writing is actually kind of how I write my original stories, which probably helped make this easier. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I really hope you liked it, Sophy!_


	3. lilyscorpius - breaking traditions

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

_Author's Note: First and foremost, this is dedicated to Kaia (free from heartache) for the Gift-Giving Extravaganza 2013. I hope you like it! Also, this is for the One Character Competition (My character is Lily Luna Potter, and for this round I had to write at least 100 words, integrating the following prompts: parchment, pillow, pale, pick, private, playful, panic), the Forbidden Relationship Competition (Romeo and Juliet Divide - two families who don't like each other), Captaining the Next-Gen Armada (Write all the het, non-cousincest next-gen pairings), and Head!Canon Boot Camp Challenge (prompt: Hogwarts. Although my next-gen head!canon varies when it comes to pairings, this is my general view of Lily/Scorpius)._

* * *

"Potter, Lily," called Professor Longbottom. It felt weird to Lily to be thinking of him as 'Professor Longbottom'; for the first eleven years of her life, she had known him as Neville. She stepped up to the stool, boosting herself on top of it. Her feet didn't even brush the floor, unlike many of the students who had gone before her. The Sorting Hat was placed upon her head, and it slid down to cover her eyes, being much too big for her.

'_Hmm, another Weasley-Potter', _the Hat said into Lily's mind. '_Well, you have a strong desire to be different than the rest of your family; you want to stand out. You are also ambitious and cunning, with a certain sneakiness...I believe there's only one place that would fit you, and that would be SLYTHERIN!' _The Sorting Hat screamed the last word for the whole Hall to hear. There was a moment of silence, and then the table of Slytherins burst into applause.

"We got a Weasley-Potter!" one of the older Slytherins yelled as Lily slid off the chair, giving the Sorting Hat back to Professor Longbottom. She walked over to the one table where none of her family was seated, looking back at where she knew the others were. Roxanne, at the Gryffindor table, was clapping - hesitantly, yes, but she was clapping - as was Rose at the Ravenclaw table, but they seemed to be the only ones. Dominique and Molly both looked shocked, Louis and Lucy were frantically muttering across the table to Al, and James, seated at the Gryffindor table, looked crushed, and even a little betrayed.

Lily turned her face back to the Slytherin table and sat down next to a pale blond boy who looked vaguely familiar. "Welcome to Slytherin," he said. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

_That's why he looks familiar, _Lily thought. She had seen Scorpius Malfoy at King's Cross Station when Al was leaving for his first year at Hogwarts. Uncle Ron had warned Rose away from him, and Aunt Hermione had rolled her eyes and told him not to turn the two of them against each other. Lily's uncle had gotten his wish, though - as far as Lily knew, Rose and Scorpius barely had any interaction. Lily smiled up at the older boy. "Nice to meet you," she said. "Lily Luna Potter - but then, you already know that."

He smiled back at her, and Lily soon returned her attention to the Sorting, watching as the Scamander twins - longtime friends of the family - were placed in Ravenclaw, and Hugo went to Hufflepuff. She felt a slight thrill, being the only Weasley-Potter to make it into Slytherin; as the youngest, alongside Hugo, no others would follow them until their own generation had children. For now, she was the only Slytherin Weasley-Potter, and it was exciting.

o0o0o0o

Lily stared at the parchment in front of her, squinting until the words blurred together. The fire in the fireplace felt warm beside her, making her tired, but she couldn't go to sleep quite yet - this essay was due in about ten hours, and she was officially in a panic. History of Magic was, no doubt, her worst subject so far, and she was having particular difficulty with this essay.

Glancing at her watch, she sighed. It was nearly midnight, and she was exhausted, but she had to finish it. She glanced at the meager pile of books next to the essay, wishing she had found more reference material at the library, but she hadn't been able to. Either there wasn't much material on this particular goblin war, or all the other books had been taken out by other first-year students also studying it.

She looked up sharply as someone sat on the arm of her chair. Scorpius Malfoy was perched there. "It's late, don't you think?" he said.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, this is due tomorrow, so I sort of have to get it done before bed. There's no way in hell I'm getting up any earlier than I actually needed to." Lily's main problem with Hogwarts - besides History of Magic and homework - was having to get up at about six thirty or seven in the morning. When she had lived at home, she had woken up between nine and ten on a consistent basis, a schedule she appreciated a lot more.

Scorpius smirked, a playful glint in his eyes. "You'd rather stay up until two and wake up at seven, then go to bed at a respectable time and wake up at five-thirty?"

"Yes," Lily said, putting as much emphasis on the word as she possibly could. "Now, no offense, but this really isn't the best time for me to have a conversation, especially with someone I barely know."

The Malfoy boy adapted a mock-hurt glimpse. "You're wounding me, Lily."

She rolled her eyes. "Not helping, Malfoy. Out."

"Seriously, though," he said, looking a bit more serious and normal. "What's the essay on?"

"First bloody goblin war," Lily responded. "And there's no material for the blasted thing that I could find."

Scorpius looked as though he was about to burst into fits of laughter. "Got a bit of a mouth on you, huh?"

"My parents aren't around. And if you aren't going to do anything useful, then I kindly suggest that you find a different day to talk to me. For instance, one where I'm not slaving over a bloody History of Magic essay."

"I can help you," Scorpius said, and Lily widened her eyes. "My History of Magic book has a whole chapter on the first goblin war, and since you already have that much -" he gestured to her essay -"you should be fine. I'll go to my dorm and get it."

"Thanks," Lily responded. "I needed that."

Scorpius made a mock low bow. "Always glad to be of service, my fair lady."

"Will you go get that book, please?"

"Right away."

o0o0o0o

From then on, Lily and Scorpius became friends. Because they didn't share any classes together, it was impossible for them to meet up in the corridors and walk from class to class, but that wasn't an obstacle. Most of the time, they ate meals together, and although Scorpius did have a couple third-year friends as well, they were curious enough about the Slytherin Potter to be friendly towards her.

"Why do you hang around that git?" James constantly asked her. "Just because you're a Slytherin doesn't mean you have to hang around with Slytherins."

"Scorpius Malfoy can be a troublemaker," Rose warned Lily. "I see him in class, you know, and he always makes smart-aleck responses to the professors and shows up late."

"If that Malfoy boy starts trying to kiss you, I'll - I'll - I'll do something to him," Al said to her.

Lily ignored everybody. She and Scorpius were friends, and she really didn't want that to change anytime soon.

o0o0o0o

"Oi, Scorpius!" Lily called across the Slytherin common room one day in her second year. "You want to go play a bit of two-a-side Quidditch?"

His head peeked over the top of the book he was reading. "Quidditch, you say? With who?"

"Roxanne and Rose."

Scorpius made a face. "Rose Weasley is a know-it-all."

"Shut up, you, she's my cousin. And I promise I'll pick you for my team. Now get your lazy arse off the chair and come play - I can't take on the two of them by myself, even if Rose sucks."

The Malfoy boy placed the book down on his chair as he stood up. "Fine. But only because I won't be on the same team as Rose. Roxanne's decent, though, as far as I know - well, for a Gryffindor, at least. She's kind of hot, too."

"Again, she's my cousin. Shut up." Lily tried to ignore a little twinge in her heart - which wasn't jealousy, no, definitely not - as she and Scorpius left the Slytherin common room.

"So I can't insult _or_ compliment your cousins? What am I allowed to say about them, then?"

"You know what I meant, Malfoy."

o0o0o0o

"Lily, I believe I'm obligated to accompany you to your first Hogsmeade weekend," said Scorpius nearly a year later as they left the Great Hall. "See, if you go with your other third-year friends, you're going to have absolutely no idea what to do, and then you're all going to end up going to the Post Office or something equally boring. But if you go with a knowledgeable fifth year, like yours truly, then you'll actually have a decent time."

"I can practically hear James harassing us already," Lily responded dryly. "But fine, I'll go with you. Mina - you know, my roommate - is angry with me anyway, because I told her that neither of my brothers have ever shown, and will never show, any interest in her."

Scorpius whistled. "Harsh."

"Well, it's true - they'd never date a Slytherin, either one of them. They're both under the assumption that I'm the only decent Slytherin ever to exist, and sometimes it seems like even that's questionable to them."

"I'm always here if you need someone to hex your lovely brothers," Scorpius said.

"I can hex them perfectly fine on my own," Lily responded.

o0o0o0o

Lily and Scorpius sat across from one another in the Three Broomsticks, each with a mug of Butterbeer in their hands. Lily was already halfway done hers; she had never tried it before, and found it so delicious that it was impossible to drink it slowly. Scorpius was smirking at her, and she kept rolling her eyes at him - she knew there were plenty of things he wanted to say about her guzzling Butterbeer, but he was surprisingly refraining.

She took another sip, and nearly spit it out as James popped up at their table, seemingly out of nowhere. "What the hell are you doing?" Lily shrieked, swatting at his arm. "Aren't you supposed to be off snogging another third year or something?"

"I don't snog third years," James said patiently. "I have some dignity, after all - I only go two years below my age, and since I'm a sixth year, that means the youngest person I would snog is a fourth year. Now, I might ask you what the hell you're doing - it seems to me like you're on a date with a Malfoy."

Lily felt warmth in her cheeks. "We're not on a date," she protested, ignoring the private thought of '_Maybe I wouldn't mind if we were'. _"We're friends. And you're interrupting - get out. I'm sure your date - whoever it is - is practically dying without you to fawn over." James was popular - too popular, in Lily's opinion - and so he constantly had girls falling all over him, something he took full advantage of.

James turned his head to look behind him, probably scanning the tables to see if his date was all right. "If I catch you laying one hand on my sister, Malfoy -" James started, but Lily interrupted him before he could finish his threat.

"If you threaten my best friend again - or even begin to threaten him - I will personally perform a very nasty spell on a part of your body that is very important to you." She pointedly glanced downward before raising her eyes to meet his again. "Now I would really appreciate it if you could leave."

James made a rude hand gesture at Scorpius, causing Lily to reach for her wand, but before she could do anything, he had returned to his table.

o0o0o0o

Lily was lying flat on her bed, comfortable but unable to fall asleep. Her thoughts were swirling in every direction, and she sat up and punched her pillow with frustration. Being a fourth year sucked. Not only had she been awake until three in the morning the night before finishing a particularly long essay, but she had just found out that Scorpius had found himself a girlfriend. The girlfriend - Lea Something - was tall, dark-haired, and beautiful, a sixth year like Scorpius.

She hadn't seen it coming. She knew that Scorpius knew other girls, of course, but apart from the occasional offhand comments about someone being nice to look at, he had never shown real interest in someone. She had never expected that he actually fancied someone to the point of going out with them.

A sigh escaped from her mouth. Lily was jealous, there was no denying it. She didn't mind when Scorpius hung around other people - she wasn't that clingy - but seeing him with a girlfriend hurt, even though he still made time for her. She wanted to be the one to accompany him to Hogsmeade on a date; she wanted to be the one who held his hand and looked up into his eyes and pressed her lips to his.

She forced herself to shake the thought away. She was being ridiculous - surely, there were people out there better than Scorpius. People like... She forced herself to try and think, making a mental list of the people that she knew, but none of them even came close to Scorpius. He fit so perfectly with her; they were best friends, and wouldn't it be fitting that they started going out?

She flopped back down onto her back, wondering if her dream would ever come true.

o0o0o0o

"What happened to Lea?" Lily asked a couple months later. Lea had spent the entire breakfast time that day glaring at Scorpius with such ferocity that it looked as though she was going to whip out her wand and curse him right in front of everybody. "She seemed angry."

Scorpius groaned. "To say the least. We broke up last night, and it didn't end well."

Lily forced herself to keep a victorious, triumphant smirk from appearing on her face. Scorpius was her closest friend; it wouldn't be nice of her to be happy about his breakup in front of him. "What happened?" she asked neutrally, following Scorpius outside. It was a Saturday in late March, brisk enough that Lily wished she had a jacket, but not so cold that she could be bothered to go and get one.

"She thought I was cheating on her," Scorpius explained. "I swore that I wasn't - and I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't cheat on someone, I'd just break up with them if I preferred someone else. We argued over it, because...well, she thought I was cheating on her with you. You and I spend a lot of time together, and she said that -" Scorpius cut himself off, stopping suddenly. "She said some pretty rude things. And I told her that she shouldn't talk about you that way, and that no one was allowed to say that sort of thing about you."

"Defending my honor, Sir Scorpius?" Lily teased, nudging him with her elbow. "But no, seriously, that was..." She hesitated, not sure exactly what to say. "That was really good of you," she decided on.

He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking distinctly uncomfortable. "She was getting tiresome anyway. I started - when I was with her, I began to notice someone else."

Lily's heart sank. He broke up with Lea, which was fantastic, but now there was someone else that he fancied, which was decidedly not fantastic. "Who is it?" she asked, wishing that she was a Gryffindor, wishing that she had the courage to outright tell him how she felt or to randomly pull him close and snog her.

Scorpius stopped walking, and so did Lily, turning to face him. He took a deep breath, looking down at the ground and then making eye contact with Lily. "You're going to hate me," he said, "but it's you."

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, feeling like everything was suddenly right in the world.

o0o0o0o

"Do you think we'll ever tell your family?" Scorpius asked, pulling away from Lily. It was dark, but the window provided moonlight and starlight that allowed her to see Scorpius. They had snuck out after curfew to meet in an abandoned classroom, and put up enough protective charms on it to ensure that no one would be walking in on them very easily. It had been a little over six months since Scorpius had admitted his feelings to Lily and she had kissed him; she was in fifth year now, and he was a seventh year.

"I suppose we'll have to, at some point," Lily said thoughtfully. "Of course, it isn't really a conversation I'd particularly like to have. James and Al..." She shook her head. "I think most of the adults would come around, and I can't imagine Roxanne being very judgmental - she's been pretty open-minded about everything since she came out to the family - but as far as the rest of them...I don't think I really want to see their reactions."

"I think your brothers would hex me," Scorpius said.

"And I said that I would do something to James's naughty bits if he threatens you," Lily pointed out. "He cares about those bits, y'know - I don't know how much he'd really be willing to try with you. He might say some obnoxious stuff, but you're probably pretty safe." She looked pensive for a moment. "I might have to threaten Al's, too."

"Just as long as you don't threaten mine."

"No, I kind of want to keep those safe."

o0o0o0o

"Promise you'll write me," Lily said as she stood with Scorpius in the Entrance Hall. Many of the other students had already started to leave, beginning the short walk to the carriages, but Lily and Scorpius had lingered behind.

"I always write you," Scorpius said, bemused.

"Yeah, but I mean...you won't be at Hogwarts anymore, and I have two more years."

"I have no idea how you'll survive without me lending you History of Magic books," Scorpius teased.

"I'm dropping History of Magic; I know I failed my OWL on it."

"Figured that," Scorpius said. "And I promise, I'll write you all the time. You'll get sick of seeing letters signed with my name. And we'll meet up in Hogsmeade - your brothers won't be around, thank Merlin, so we won't have to worry about being spotted by them. I promise, Lily, we can make this work - even with the fact that your family won't approve, even with the fact that I won't be here at Hogwarts, even with the fact we're breaking every Potter and Malfoy tradition, it seems." He tucked a strand of Lily's scarlet hair behind her ear. "I love you, Lily Luna, and I'm not going to let someone I love slip away."

She smiled up at him. "Love you, Scorpius. Now come on - if we get to the train soon enough, we can find an empty compartment and lock it so that no one can enter."

"I must say, I love the sound of that."

"Of course you do." Lily reached for his hand and squeezed it, smiling up at him, simply glad to be in love with her best friend.


End file.
